1. The Wall Street Journal reports: "..the inability of governments and households to reduce their debt continues to cast a shadow over Western economies and the financial health of individuals. Today, U.S. consumers have more mortgage and credit-card debt than they did five years ago, and the U.S. budget deficit is worsening. At the same time, European governments are having to throw billions more euros at Greece to keep it afloat."

4. The Greek parliament will vote tomorrow on the EU/IMF austerity package. Support for the austerity program is dwindling and not just in Greece. "Greek MPs are now facing the choice between a lie and a disaster," writes the FT's Wolfgang Munchau. "Considering what is at stake, the EU and the IMF should never have put Greece in that position."

8. New laws, passed in six states in the last year or so, ban abortions at the 20th week after conception, based on the theory that the fetus can feel pain at that point — a notion disputed by some medical organizations in the United States and Britain.